To prepare the dried Cirsium setidens Nakai appropriate to the gondre-namul, this study investigated the effects of steaming and blanching on its color characteristic, degree of browning, peroxidase activity, rehydration, and preference test. Cirsium setidens Nakai (gondre) was steamed for 5-15 min and blanched in different blanching solutions for 1-5 min, followed by drying at 50oC. The blanching solutions used in this study were water, and 0.5% (w/v) solutions of NaCl, CaCl2, and sodium polyphosphate (SPP). The control was dried without pre-treatment. Relative to the control, the lightness of dried Korean thistle decreased, except for that blanched with NaCl solution, whereas its redness decreased except for that steamed. All treatments exhibited lower yellowness than the control. Also, all treatments revealed a lower degree of browning and peroxidase activity than the control. Rehydration was reduced by pre-treatments of Korean thistle relative to the control. Korean thistle blanched for 1 min with CaCl2 solution exhibited higher points for color, flavor, taste, and overall acceptability than those of the control. Overall, blanching with CaCl2 solution would be an appropriate way of preparing the gondre-namul using dried Korean thistle, accompanying the common way by blanching with NaCl solution.